Former Disney Channel star Keri Russell has said that she is “lucky” to have escaped the show with her “sanity and dignity” intact.
Russell, who was a member of the Mickey Mouse Club from 1991 to 1994, has spoken out about the dark side of the Disney machine in recent years. In a recent interview with W magazine, she said that she felt like she was “being exploited” during her time on the show.
When pressured by the reporter if the actress saved “anything from your time on the show,” Russell answered, “My sanity, my dignity. Not everyone got out alive.”
At one point, Russell admitted she was the “least talented” person in the cast of young stars.
“Some of those people are still my best friends—Ilana [Miller] and Lindsey [Alley]. I was there at a time when there were a lot of famous kids there,” the “Felicity” star said. “And I say this completely truthfully: I was literally the least talented one there. I’m not kidding.”
“When I look at those kids, I’m like, why in the world did they pick me?” she added. “Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling and Britney Spears. It was wild.”
The “Waitress” star landed her role on the Disney show when she was 15, appearing on the hit from 1991-1994.
“They were all very talented. Like, Christina and Britney and Ryan Gosling and Justin, all those kids were 12 when I was 17. So I was a little older,” the actress said on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
“I mean, I could drive. I was cool. But they were wildly talented.”
Russell’s comments have been met with mixed reactions. Some people have praised her for speaking out about the dark side of Disney, while others have accused her of being ungrateful.
Russell was one of the many stars who spoke out in defense of Spears amid her then-ongoing battle to get out of her conservatorship held by her father, Jamie Spears.
“I just hope she’s happy, whatever that means,” Keri said at the screening for her film “Antlers.”
“I don’t know if any of us really know how her life really is,” she added. “But I just hope she’s happy.”
